Few 'smart' pumps integrate with EMRs, KLAS says

Though "smart" infusion pumps are supposed to make intravenous medication and fluid administration safer and streamline the process of documenting infusions in patient records, just one manufacturer of smart pumps has achieved true integration with EMRs to date, a new KLAS research report says.

According to Orem, Utah-based KLAS, that vendor is Hospira, which has completed auto-programming between its Plum A+/MedNet pump and a Cerner EMR at two hospitals. "As a company, Hospira is ahead of the pack in terms of integration, but it is still very early in the game," report author Coray Tate says in a KLAS statement.

However, customer satisfaction with the Hospira pumps--and those of several competitors--is strikingly low; some 20 percent of providers that purchased either the B. Braun Outlook or the new Hospira Symbiq pump report that they would not buy the same product again. About 17 percent of customers of the smaller Baxter Sigma pump are not satisfied. However, 99 percent of those surveyed who purchased the CareFusion Alaris pump would do so again, KLAS says, though the CareFusion product does not currently integrate with EMRs.

To learn more:
- read this Healthcare IT News story
- see this KLAS press release
- order the report from KLAS

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